Some info;
Rebuilt top and bottom end
new reeds and cage
Ported cylinder
Bought used, about 200ft difference in altitude from the two locations (Will that make much of a difference?)

Its a hit and miss with starting this thing. Either it'll start in 3 kicks or 20 and its quite frustrating (the soles of my feet are raw!) but when it does hook, it runs strong with no problems. Any suggestions as to what the problem could be?

We've cleaned the carb and tried adjusting the air fuel needle with a little luck but not a permanent fix. Air filter has been cleaned and oiled as well. We did notice that the plugs are a bit black, thus might be running a little rich

Thanks for the help!

Edited by paduama, 27 April 2012 - 05:37 PM.

trouble starting is usually a jet or float problem. Go through and check what all your jets are main and pilot being most important. Then talk to a shop and ask what they would recommend for your altitude. After jetting correctly play with the float level. Hopefully that fixed it.

+1 jetting

If nothing obvious like fouled plug or dirty carb/bad bad gas etc check your spark.

Could be a weak spark.  I had the same problem on a bike in the past.  Got water under the stator cover from washing it a litte too good.  I would kick and kick and kick till I was dead tired.  But like yours would run ok once it got started.  Pull your stator cover off and have a look.  Also pull your plug and with it plugged in kick it over with your hand and look at the spark/color in low light.

I had a 99 Rm250 a while back fun bike,

Already checked and yes I am getting a spark but I'll try pulling the stator cover off anyways. Previous owner did say he cleaned it with a power washer before i stopped by.

Also,the bike started fine at the sellers house and according to him, for the most part, he had no issues. Temperature is relatively the same and with a difference of 200ft, would that really have much affect on the bike?

Thanks

Edited by paduama, 27 April 2012 - 06:58 PM.

I'll check the jets and call up my local dealership and see what they recommend
Thanks

Edited by paduama, 27 April 2012 - 06:50 PM.

Seems that no one but me can reliably start my RMX.  I can always start it with 1 or 2 kicks stone cold or hot. Everyone else needs about 10 kicks to get it going if they can do it at all.  Not exactly the same bike but could just be your technique.

200 feet of altitude shouldn't make any jetting difference unless it was on the ragged edge of rich/lean in the first place.
I had some cold/damp weather hard starting problems with my KDX that were coil related. Spark was there, but weak. Bike started/ran fine when it was above 50 degrees, but drop under 50 and it was a no start without warming the motor up with a heat gun. Then once started, it ran good the rest of the day. Replaced coil, fires up on the second or third kick cold, first or second kick hot, every time.

Is it only a cold start problem,or is it also finicky during warm restarts?

warm and cold

What pilot jet is in your carb?

I had the same kind of problems, it was just flooding the bike far too much, went from the 62 pilot in it to a 48 and no troubles starting ever now. Unless I forget to turn the fuel on, which is a regular occurence.

Don't know what size jets we"re running but I'll check today. Its weird though because from what I've realized, i need to have the petcock closed for it to start up.
On a side note, when the petcock is fully opened and I tilt the bike over on its side, the gas constantly drains from the overflow lines. Is that normal?

Thanks

Edited by paduama, 28 April 2012 - 06:18 AM.

Sorry mods, but could you please return this thread to the general section. Theres not much activity here and id like to have my bike fixed by tomorrow.

Thanks!

Yes, petrol should spill from your overflow lines when you tip it on it's side.

Check your plug before anything, if it's just wet fouled you'll need a new one before trying anything.

One other thing I had to do with my RM before it would reliably start was repack the muffler too.

Having to turn the petrol tap off to start it tells me you're running way too rich, try taking your carby apart, blowing out the air passages with either compressed air or a bicycle pump with one of them little needle attachments, get out the small jet, the one that uses a flat bladed screwdriver to install / remove, take it to a bike shop, and ask them for the next three sizes down. Replace next size jet down into carburetor, attempt start. If no go, try one smaller.
Do you have a manual for your bike? It explains how to jet quite well, at least my one for my 1994 RM does.